Week 9 in room 8

On Wednesday we had a special visit from a different Mandarin teacher - Pagein Lao Shi - who talked to us about traditional Chinese clothing. Doesn't Willow look beautiful?

We have been enjoying some new construction material - clever sticks. 

This week we finished and sent our letters to our new pen friends at Kaitangata School. I'm sure they will love getting them as much as we enjoyed getting theirs.

Ukulele lessons continue and some people are getting really good! 

On Thursday, there was some expert baking done for the bake sale on Friday. A HUGE thank you to everyone who baked at home and brought it along for the bake sale. It all looked so delicious and beautifully presented. We made $500 from the baking!

Week 8

Only two weeks to go now, and Term 3 will be done and dusted.
Our self managed learning is going well, and most students are accomplishing their goals by the end of the week.
This week the Home and School group gave every class a new set of sports equipment. We have been really enjoying using these.

Our fundraising efforts have picked up a lot of momentum in the last few weeks, and I am so proud of the effort and generosity shown by everyone.

The Bring 'N Buy sale was a success, raising $137 for the water harvesting project in Uganda. Room 11 held a Sausage Sizzle on Saturday. This week the juniors have a sponsored walk and we, along with Room 9, are making our final contribution - a bake sale, on Friday.
Students will be asked to bring some baking along on Thursday or Friday morning, if they would like to. This is absolutely optional.

Week 7

In Room 8 we are getting excited about our more 'self managed' approach to learning. Students are becoming more aware of their learning goals, and are working hard to complete tasks and prove that they are mastering their learning intentions. By Friday, if they have completed their "Must Dos", they are allowed to choose "Can Dos". This Friday some people chose to decorate a broken ukulele, others played maths games on the Chromebooks, and others wanted to help Mrs Reid make teaching resources for Uganda.

This is making us more accountable for our own learning, and we enjoy being able to choose when we complete different tasks. Between 10:30 - 12:30 we have Self Managed Learning time, so if we are not at workshops with Mrs Reid, we can choose which tasks we are doing. 

On Mnday we had the final of the year 4, 5 and 6 speech competition. It was very exciting to see Rosemary win the year 6 section, while Ulysses came second, and Ashley M won the year 5 section. Well done! 

This week we welcomed a new student: Hunter Taylor - who joins us from Blenheim. Welcome Hunter! 

And finally - what better way to end the week than with a game of non stop cricket in the sunshine?

Week 6

It has been a full on week getting our speeches finished and practiced. These were well written pieces of persuasive writing with carefully thought out arguments. Congratulations to Ulysses, Rosemary, Ashley M and Alex who will present their speeches to the judges on Monday afternoon in the hall. There will be 4 year 4 speeches, 4 year 5s and 4 year 6 contestants. They begin at 1:30 pm. Special thanks to our judges Mrs Weild and Mrs McIlrea.  Families are most welcome to come and support the speakers.
Our visit from the Aquavan on Thursday was amazing - there is such a lot to learn about the creatures in the sea, and how their survival is our survival.

In Room 8 we have been learning about the 5 zones in the ocean. Ask a Room 8 child to tell you the pelagic zones in order!

The Kapa Haka group had a busy week, with the Invercargill Polyfest on Monday and a performance at the Fonterra Awards at the Town and Country club on Friday night. As usual, they did us proud, performing with skill and energy.

This week we have the competition of the Spelling Bee on Monday, speech finals of course, and the student council is running a remote control day on Thursday 6th. 

Also in Room 8 we will be delving further into a more self managing approach, as students are becoming more accountable for completing their work to a high standard. More on this soon!